Water Dragon Weekly Sunday Post: Recipe

MOM’S CHILI

Chili makes a great meal no matter what time of year it is!  It’s perfect for a camping supper in the summer, a nice hot dinner in the winter, and a one-pot dish on a cool spring or fall evening.

This is another of my mom’s recipes.  It’s been in our family for many decades.  
You can give this dish your own “signature style” by adding or subtracting ingredients.  Use it as a base and get creative!
It’s easy to control how spicy our Chili is.   The only spice is chili powder.   Add more or less, as you prefer.
In our house, my husband gets the chili powder bottle with his meal, so he can add as much as he wants!

Mom's Chili...hot and ready to eat! Yum!

 

RECIPE FOR MOM’S CHILI:

2 lbs ground beef
5 or 6 onions, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup celery  (we omit this)
1- 28 oz can stewed tomatoes (or crushed, diced, Italian, etc)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder, (add more to taste if desired)
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained.

Brown meat, drain fat.  Sauté onions & celery in same pot with beef, until onions are starting to get soft.  Add other ingredients, cover and simmer for 30 minutes on top of stove.  Add beans, continue to cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Topping suggestions: *if desired:  sour cream, light sour cream or plain yogurt, shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar or American), crushed tortilla chips, jalapeno  peppers.

Thanks for viewing Mom’s Chili RECIPE!
***If you would like to join the 2012 Water Dragon Weekly Sunday Post , go to:   https://jakesprinter.wordpress.com
 You’ll be able to sign up there and get the Water Dragon logo for your blog.  Then you’ll receive weekly emails advising you of that Sunday’s challenge.  It’s fun!  Join us!

Judy

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

 

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Recipe: Sloppy Joes

My dear blog readers…..I should have said: NEON ORANGE Sloppy Joes!  I have trouble shooting food photos! (I’m sure you’ve noticed!)  This is an area of my photography I’m working on, desperately!  I even created a make-shift light box this time…..and you can see how well it worked!  😉  So…apologies to all of you….the recipes I post REALLY ARE delicious!  They just look awful!  😉  Bear with me….I’ll tackle this project and hopefully you will see food that looks like real food someday!

*********

 Sloppy Joes

* a recipe from my mom ❤

1.5 pounds ground beef
1 ¼ cups ketchup
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard (ground)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar

Brown the beef in a frying pan and remove any fat/grease.  Add the ketchup and the remaining ingredients.  Mix well.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes on simmer/low.  (check to make sure the flame isn’t too hot, as it can burn)
Traditionally, sloppy joes are served on hamburger buns.  But try soft flour tortillas for a change.

This recipe has been a favorite in our family for a long time.  I can remember eating it on camping trips when I was a child!

Enjoy~ and have a great start to your week!

Judy 

All text and images are copyright © 2005-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

Cappuccino in a Jar!

Great as a gift!

Good Evening Dear Readers~
Homemade gifts are always appreciated.  Here’s a gift you can give yourself or someone else.
There are many “gifts in a jar” you can put together.  I have several to share with you.  I came across this Cappuccino mix the other day, and thought it would be a popular one for many people.  I found several recipes for it, but the one I chose is from http://www.allrecipes.com.

Click here for the link to the recipe.               (I haven’t tried mine yet!)

As with any recipe, there will be people who love it and people who don’t.  I like to read the comments and see if there are any variations to the recipe, or tips that people discovered when they made it.  One thing I did read was to try different flavored powdered creamers, instead of the usual plain powdered creamer called for in the recipes.

You can always Google “Cappuccino in a Jar recipes” too.
Enjoy! And thanks for stopping by~

Got Snickers? Here’s Dessert!

Hello readers~

We have far too many candy bars left in our house after the Hallowe’en rush.  I don’t need to eat them, and if they linger long enough on the counter…..I will!  Here’s a great way to use up some of the candy you may have left over.  Of course, it means I’m eating it…..but it is tasty!

All you need for this dessert is: chopped Snicker candy bars and peeled, sliced or chopped apples.  Bake it and…. OH…. if you’d like to top it with ice cream….add that, too!

Click here for the link to the recipe.   Thanks to Duckie-Do from ThriftyFun for the recipe.

**Another recipe for leftover Snickers is “Snicker Salad”.  That dish uses chopped Snickers, apples, and cool whip.  Click here for that recipe.   Thanks to recipetips.com for the recipe.

Note:  There are other Snicker Salad recipes that call for vanilla instant pudding and milk.
If you “Google” Snicker Salad,  you will find both recipes.

Enjoy digging out those leftover Snickers from your cache!

Pumpkin Pancakes~wowza!

Good evening readers!

From time to time, I will have Guest Contributors on this site.
today our guest is my daughter, Kara, who made these great pancakes for our breakfast today!

Hi!  I have a great breakfast idea for you.  I found it on Betty Crocker’s website: http://m.bettycrocker.com/recipes/spicy-pumpkin-pancakes/f93e66ed-68c6-4f1d-8f98-5dcbd90ed36e

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
1 cup maple-flavored syrup
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped pecans2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs

Directions

1. In 1-quart saucepan, heat syrup and butter until butter is melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.
2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375°F. Grease griddle with vegetable oil if necessary. In medium bowl, stir all pancake ingredients until well blended. For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle.
3. Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

   This is an easy recipe that is a crowd pleaser.  The special syrup/pecan mixture really makes it classy.  It’s going to be a tradition in our family, I can tell!
   Kara 

Eating Acorns?

Eating Acorns???  Have I got a great treat for you!  Some of you may have seen this on the internet already.  I saw it first on Pinterest…http://pinterest.com/.

 

These Acorns are just YUMMY!

I traced down a website with a recipe, although just looking at the yummy acorns, you can figure out how they are made.  But I want to give credit to the website since it is not my recipe idea.  Here’s the website: http://bargainhoot.com/  (<recipe is here)

Recipe
You’ll need: 1 bag of Mini Nutter Butters
1 Bag of Hershey’s Kisses
1 Bag of chocolate chips
Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in micro for 30 sec., then 10 sec. intervals, stirring, until chips are melted and smooth. This is your Acorn “glue”.
Using a small knife, place a tiny amount of melted chocolate on one side of a Nutter Butter and stick a Kiss on it.  On the other side, put a teensy bit of melted chocolate and stick one chocolate chip for the “stem”.  Set aside on waxed paper to dry and harden.

  Try to keep your family away from them!!  Actually this is a great family activity.  Set up an assembly line and mass-produce Acorns!   Store in an air-tight container.
**Note: if your child is allergic to peanut butter, substitute Mini Nilla Wafers or Mini Ritz Crackers 

I made them this afternoon and had to take my photos quickly!  My family was enjoying eating them so much I thought I might not have enough left for a photo!  They were starting to act a little “squirrelly” too!  😉

If you like peanut butter and chocolate….you are in luck!  Have fun and enjoy making these sweet, photogenic fall goodies!

Pumpkin Dessert recipe

My mom always made this delicious moist cake in the fall.  But why wait?  I think it tastes good all year!

Here is the list of ingredients you’ll need for Pumpkin Dessert: 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 & 1/2 sticks margarine, 3 eggs, 1- 14 oz.can pumpkin pie mix, 2/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. **If you cannot find pumpkin pie mix, buy canned pumpkin and use the recipe on the back to make it into pumpkin pie “filling”.  Usually you just need to add: sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.   Oven: 350 degrees.
The Recipe:
  the crust: 1 box yellow cake mix (RESERVE 1 cup cake mix)
1/2 cup (one stick) margarine, melted
1 egg
Mix well and press into lightly greased 9″x13″ pan.

the filling: 1- 14 oz can pumpkin pie mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Combine until smooth and pour over crust.

the topping: 1 cup reserved cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine (1/2 stick)
Place ingredients in a bowl.  Using a pastry blender
or 2 knives criss-crossing, blend the margarine into
the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs.
Sprinkle crumbs over filling.  Bake @350 for 45-50 mins.
Or until cake feels slightly firm to the touch.
Serve with whipped topping!

 

Corn Chowder

Six ingredients!

Boil together: 1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2″ chunks.  Any kind of potato: white, red, Yukon gold…

2 cups baby carrots, sliced

2 cups chicken broth  (vegetable broth will work also)

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in: 2 cans (15 oz) creamed corn

3/4 cup light cream, Half & Half, or whatever you choose.  (make sure it’s not boiling at this point)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Serve!  (serves 4)

If you need to reheat, do not bring to a boil.  Just return soup to a hot temperature.  Enjoy!!

Salsa Dip!

If you like easy meals like I do, you’ll love this dip!   It’s a family favorite.  All you need is cream cheese and salsa, and your choice of dippers.   Here’s the recipe:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Salsa Dip

                                                                                                                       *  2- 8 oz blocks 1/3 less fat softened Cream Cheese                                                                                                                                                      *  almost 2 cups Medium Chunky Salsa (to taste)

                                                                                                                        Mix both together with a fork until well blended.  Serve with                                                                                                                           chips,  crackers, vegetables, whatever you choose. 

                                                                                                                           You can vary the taste by using hot salsa.  Enjoy!